Emergency equipment power sources

ABSTRACT

Energy harvesting devices provide power to devices of emergency equipment stations (e.g., fire extinguisher station, fire alarm pull station, defibrillator station, etc.) distributed throughout a facility to monitor one or more internal or external conditions (e.g., identifiable objects detected near the station, presence of an obstruction restricting access to the station, etc.) and relay information about the monitored conditions to a central station.

RELATED APPLICATION

Pursuant to 35 USC §119(e), this application claims the benefit of priorU.S. Provisional Application 61/028,484, filed Feb. 13, 2008, which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This description relates to providing power to emergency equipment andemergency equipment stations.

BACKGROUND

Over the past decades, the consumer electronics market has demonstrateda growth cycle that rivals most industries. Correspondingly, the needfor energy to power this explosion of electronic consumer goods isproportional. Traditional electrical power (e.g. 120 volt, alternatingcircuit) provided a relatively continuous form of energy to residencesand businesses from remotely located electrical power plants whileenergy storage devices such as batteries, while portable, provide powerfor finite time periods.

SUMMARY

The specification describes technology related to providing power toemergency equipment and emergency equipment stations.

In general, in one aspect, the specification describes a systemincluding at least one energy harvesting device and at least oneemergency equipment station that includes an emergency assistance devicepowered, at least in part, by the at least one energy harvesting device.The system also includes a central station located remotely from theemergency equipment station and in communication with the emergencyequipment station, the central station configured to receive data fromthe emergency equipment station that is powered by the at least oneenergy harvesting device.

These and other implementations can optionally include one or more ofthe following features. The emergency assistance device may include amicrocontroller for supplying power for the plurality of modules of theat least one emergency equipment station. The emergency assistancedevice may also include a microcontroller for supplying power for theplurality of modules of the at least one emergency equipment station.The microcontroller may be configured to transmit informationrepresentative of an operational state of the plurality of modules tothe central station. The emergency assistance device may include atleast one of a fire extinguisher, a fire pull alarm, an emergencylighting device and a defibrillator. The at least one energy harvestingdevice may be configured to harvest energy from a manmade power source.The microcontroller may be configured to convert power.

In general, another aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in apparatus for remote inspection ofportable tanks. The apparatus includes a gauge powered, at least inpart, by an energy harvesting device and configured to be incommunication with a volume defined by a portable tank for detection anddisplay of pressure condition of the content contained within thevolume; and an electronic circuit disposed in communication with thegauge and adapted to signal to a remote central station upon detectionof predetermined conditions comprising at least one predeterminedinternal condition, the at least one predetermined internal conditioncomprising an out-of-range pressure condition of contents containedwithin the volume of the portable tank, and said apparatus comprising atleast one detector for the at least one predetermined internal conditioncomprising said gauge for detecting the out-of-range pressure conditionof content contained within the volume of the portable tank.

These and other implementations can optionally include one or more ofthe following features. The predetermined conditions may further includeat least one predetermined external condition, the at least onepredetermined external condition comprising at least lack of presence ofa portable tank in its installed position, and presence of anobstruction to viewing of or access to the portable tank. The electroniccircuit may include at least one detector for the at least onepredetermined internal condition, said at least one detector for the atleast one predetermined internal condition being adapted to initiate asignal to the remote central station upon detection of the at least onepredetermined internal condition.

In general, still another aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in a system. The system includes at leastone energy harvesting device, and a network of emergency equipmentstations, wherein each emergency equipment station includes an emergencyassistance device and a plurality of sensors powered, at least in part,by the at least one energy harvesting device, each of the plurality ofsensors is configured to sense at least one selectable predeterminedcondition. The system also includes a central station configured todistribute power provided by the at least one energy harvesting deviceto the network of emergency equipment stations. The system also includesa central station configured to distribute power harvested by theplurality of energy harvesting devices to the network of emergencyequipment stations.

These and other implementations can optionally include one or more ofthe following features. The at least one energy harvesting device may beconfigured to harvest energy from a manmade power source. The network ofemergency equipment stations may include a mesh network configuration.

The details of several implementations of various aspects of theinvention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the descriptionbelow. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system for communicating information collectedat a network of emergency equipment stations to various locations.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of representative power sources for emergencyequipment and emergency equipment stations.

FIGS. 3-4 are perspective views of a fire extinguisher station.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a docking station of an emergency equipmentstation.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 10 for remote tracking of objects withemergency equipment is distributed throughout (e.g., in rooms, hallways,etc.) a healthcare facility (e.g., a hospital, assisted living facility,a nursing home, etc.), a commercial facility (e.g., a shopping mall,restaurant, dance club, gymnasium, etc.), an educational institution(e.g., a college campus, dormitory, etc.), a residence (e.g., aresidential home, residential development, apartment complex,condominium complex, etc.), or other facility (e.g., an airport, trainstation, bus station, etc.). In this particular example, emergencyequipment stations are distributed throughout four floors of a building14. Each emergency equipment station includes an emergency assistancedevice (e.g., a fire extinguisher, fire pull alarm, emergency egresslighting, emergency lighting, defibrillator, etc.) and one or moresensors adapted to sense various internal and external conditions (e.g.,ambient air temperature, presence of an obstruction blocking access toemergency assistance device, etc.). Each emergency equipment stationalso includes equipment for detecting objects such as people (e.g.,emergency personnel, employees, students, prisoners, etc.), packages(e.g., crates, mail parcels, etc.), equipment (e.g., vehicles associatedwith a facility) and other types of objects worthy of being tracked.

System 10 includes remote central station 12 located in the building 14that is in communication with other facilities (e.g., buildings),vehicles and individuals via a communication medium 16 such as asatellite network 21, cellular network 26, public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) 28, or a computer network such as the Internet 31. Ingeneral, remote central station 12 remotely monitors receivesinformation from a network of emergency equipment stations, e.g., fireextinguisher stations 18 a-c, fire alarm pull stations 20 a-d,defibrillator stations 22 a-b, emergency lighting stations 23 a-b, andemergency egress station 24, for assistance with tracking objectslocated and moving within the building 14. Each emergency equipmentstation includes sensors and circuitry for monitoring internal and/orexternal conditions such as ambient air temperature, presence of anobstruction in front of the equipment, removal of the equipment from aninstalled position, etc. Additionally, each emergency equipment station(or device) includes sensors and circuitry for sensing and detectingobjects.

Upon detection of one or more objects, remote central station 12 isconfigured to relay information about the detected object and/orexternal conditions to one or more destinations (e.g., another facility30, vehicle 32, personnel 36). In some arrangements, along withdetecting objects, the emergency equipment is capable of processingdetection information to track the objects or to assist with trackingthe objects. For example an object may be tracked as it is moved fromthe second floor to fourth floor of the building 14. Processing forobject tracking may be partially or completely executed remote from theemergency equipment stations. For example object tracking may beexecuted at the remote central station 12, the facility 30, vehicle 32or at the location of the personnel 36. Along with object tracking,additional internal and external conditions associated with theemergency equipment stations and devices may be monitored. For example,ambient temperature may be monitored by the network of emergencyequipment and remote central station 12 may be configured to transmittemperature data to destinations such as facility 30, vehicle 32 andpersonnel 36. By receiving this data, facilities and personnel (e.g., afire department and emergency response personnel) can be provided with atemperature map of each floor of the building 14 to assist duringparticular events (e.g., suspected fires).

To provide energy for the emergency equipment devices, the emergencyequipment stations 18 a-c, 22 a-b, the central station 12 and otherenergy consuming devices, the system 10 includes power sources that maybe positioned relatively local or remotely located. Remote power sources25 such as power plants (e.g., nuclear, hydro-electric, etc.) cangenerate electricity that is provided (e.g., over power lines) to thebuilding 14 and provided to a power distribution system 27 thatcorrespondingly provides electricity to the emergency equipment stationsfor consumption. In general, the power distribution system 27 mayinclude power interfaces, panel junctions, power wiring and other typesof equipment and hardware needed for power delivery to the stations andemergency equipment. Processing capabilities of such an electric powerdistribution system 27 may generally include power step-up or step-downoperations using various types of transformers and connectionconfigurations. In one example, a power distribution automation (DA)system can also be implemented to record various system performanceparameters (e.g., voltage, current, switch status, temperature, and oillevel) using a plurality of distribution transformers and feeders. Thesesystem quantities may be transmitted on-line to the local power sources29 through a variety of communication media. The media could be eitherwireless (e.g., radio, and pager) or wired (e.g., Dial-up telephone,RS-485 multi-drop, and Ethernet). The measured field data can beprocessed at the local power sources 29 for display of any selectedsystem quantity through a Graphic User Interface (GUI) (not shown). Inthe event of a monitored system parameter exceeding a pre-definedthreshold, an alarm may be automatically generated for human operatorintervention. For example, any control action (for opening or closing ofthe switch or circuit breaker) may be initiated by the operator andtransmitted from the local power sources 29 through the communicationmedia to a specific emergency equipment station (e.g., fire extinguisherstations 18 a-c) associated with the corresponding switch or circuitbreaker. The desired switching action may subsequently takes place andthe action can be acknowledged back to the human operator forinformation. Local power sources 29 may also be used, individually or inconcert with the remote power sources 25, for electricity generation anddelivery. For example, rechargeable batteries may serve as one type of alocal power source 29, which can be charged and re-charged from energyprovided by one or more of the remote power sources 25 (or one or moreother local power sources 29).

Along with the facilitation of proper power delivery, the system 10 iscapable of monitoring and exchanging data with various emergencyequipment stations throughout the building 14. For example, among thetypes of information being monitored by the emergency equipment stations18 a-c and the central station 12, information associated with powerdelivery and consumption may be monitored. For example, consumptionrates and disruptions in power delivery may be monitored by thecorresponding emergency equipment station and the central station 12. Bybeing provided to the remote central station 12, the information may besent via the communication medium 16 to one or more destinations ofinterest. Various data transmission techniques and methodologies may beimplemented for providing information to the facilities, vehicles andpersonnel. For example, power delivery data transmitted by the remotecentral station 12 may be received by a communications device (e.g.,dial up modem, cable modem, cellular modem, computer network interfacecard, etc.) at a computer at the facility 30, a computer installed orpresent within the vehicle 32 (e.g., a fire truck, passenger car),and/or a hand held device 34 (e.g., a tablet computer, personal dataassistant, cellular device, pager, etc.) carried by the person 36. Inanother example, the remote central station 12 may be configured toadjust data from one or more sources (e.g., facility 30, vehicle 32,handheld device 34) that are used for various operations such asmodifying diagnostic operations at one or more of the emergencyequipment stations and adjust transmission and reception parameters andprotocols (e.g., operational frequency, transmission power, gainsettings, etc.), etc.

To assist in information monitoring and adjustments, bidirectionalinformation and data transmissions may occur between one or more of thefacilities and devices included in the system 10. For example, theremote central station 12 may be configured to receive data from one ormore sources (e.g., facility 30, vehicle 32, handheld device 34) thatmay be used for various operations such as initiating power interruptiondiagnostic operations at one or more of the emergency equipmentstations, adjusting power delivery and consumption, etc.

Referring to FIG. 2, various types of emergency equipment are shown,such as fire extinguisher station 18 a, fire alarm pull station 20 a,defibrillator station 22 a, emergency lighting station 23 a andemergency egress station 24, emergency interface panel station 40 andsmoke detector station 42. Each type of emergency equipment isconfigured to monitor various internal and/or external conditions (e.g.,power consumption, disruption in power, etc.) and is in communicationwith the remote central station 12 over a communications link (e.g., awireless link, hardwire connection, a combination thereof, etc.). In onewireless communication implementation, a wireless repeater mesh networkmay be employed to relay a power transmission signal from the powerdistribution system 27 to one or more of the emergency equipmentstations and to the remote central station 12. For example, theplurality of emergency equipment stations may each have a receiver and atransmitter. The receiver may receive the data from a node in the meshnetwork and the transmitter may transmit the data to a next node. Insome implementations, the data may be updated while being transmittedover the network. Now assume a situation where data on a last knownlocation (e.g., location A) of an object is being transmitted via anemergency equipment station in the mesh network. Before relaying thedata to a next node in the network, the station senses or receives datathat the object has moved to another location B. In such a situation,the station may update the data on the location of the object beforerelaying it to the next node. In some implementations, a history of thelast known locations may be transmitted in order to track a movement ofthe object. In addition, the mesh network can also be configured toallocate power harvested through different techniques and locations tovarious emergency equipment stations throughout the building 14. Forexample, the fire extinguisher 18 a located on the fourth floor of thebuilding 14 may be powered by solar energy while 18 c on the first flooris energized by chemical harvesting technique. From a systematic pointof view, mesh network can collectively gather information regardingdifferent types of emergency equipment stations and available powersources, thereby implementing an efficient power distribution scheme toaccommodate different power requirements.

A list 44 of various types of manmade and natural power sources areprovided that may be implemented as the local power sources 29, theremote power sources 25, or a combination of both. Along withalternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) power sources, powersources associated with a technique referred as energy harvesting may beimplemented. In general, energy harvesting (also referred to as powerharvesting or energy scavenging) is associated with one or moreprocesses by which energy is captured and stored, often by smallautonomous devices such as sensors, and devices associated withequipment and equipment stations (e.g., emergency equipment stations)included in a network. A variety of types of power may be exploited forharvesting energy, such as solar power, thermal energy, wind energy,salinity gradients, kinetic energy, tidal energy, etc. While suchlarge-scale ambient energy, such as solar, wind and tides, is widelyavailable, harvesting of the energy may present challenges.

In general, energy harvesting devices, which may be incorporated intothe emergency equipment stations, or separate from the stations, useenergy conversion to generate electricity. For example, mechanicalenergy may be converted into electrical energy, random motion (e.g.,ocean waves) may be converted into electricity, etc. Remote powersources 25 that implement energy harvesting techniques may be deployedat remote locations to serve as reliable power stations for each of theemergency equipment stations included in system 10. As such, the energyharvesting devices may be sufficiently robust to endure long-termexposure to hostile environments and have a broad range of dynamicsensitivity for energy collection (from the sun, wave motion, etc.).

By capturing minute amounts of energy from one or morenaturally-occurring energy sources (that are potentially inexhaustible),the energy (e.g., electrical energy) may be accumulated and stored(e.g., in batteries 48) for later use. In addition to using theharvested energy as a primary energy source (and directly providing theenergy, e.g., via a transformer 46), harvested energy can be used as analternative energy source to supplement a primary power source (e.g., aremotely located electrical power plant) and to enhance the reliabilityof the system 10 and prevent power interruptions.

Various types of energy may be used for harvesting energy, for example,mechanical energy sources (e.g., vibration, mechanical stress andstrain, etc.), thermal energy sources (e.g., waste energy from furnaces,heaters, friction sources, etc.), ambient radiation such as light energy(e.g., captured from sunlight or room light via photo sensors, photodiodes, solar panels, etc.), electromagnetic energy (e.g., provided byinductors, coils, transformers, etc.), environmentally-based energy(e.g., wind, water flow, ocean currents, solar, etc.), organism-basedenergy (e.g., mechanical and thermal energy generated from bio-organismsor through actions such as walking and sitting, etc.), and other energysources such as chemical and biological sources.

Various type of devices may be used for energy harvesting, that may ormay not be scaleable dependent upon the size and application. Forexample, a device that uses piezoelectric crystals, which generate avoltage upon being mechanically deformed, may provide energy generation(for storage and use). Vibration from mechanical devices such as enginescan stimulate the piezoelectric crystals along with other types ofvibration sources (e.g., movement of a person). Kinetic devices, such asthe devices used in wristwatches may also be used for energy generation.Thermoelectric generators produce energy from the heat differencebetween two objects. One or more antennas may be used to collect energyfrom radio waves or radiation in other portions of the electromagneticspectrum.

Ambient-radiation may be collected from ubiquitous radio transmitters,however, for a considerable amount of energy, either a large collectionarea or close proximity to the radiating source may be needed.

For piezoelectric energy harvesting, the piezoelectric effect, whichconverts mechanical strain into electrical current or voltage, may beexploited. Many different sources may be used to produce the mechanicalstrain, for example, human motion, low-frequency seismic vibrations, andacoustic noise may be tapped to harvest energy. Piezoelectric electricalenergy sources typically produce power on the order of milliwatts, whichwhile relatively small, can be used to charge one or more batteries. Inone arrangement, piezoelectric elements may be embedded in hallways orwalkways to recover the “people energy” of footsteps that may used tocharge batteries (or directly power) the various types of emergencydevices and emergency equipment mentioned above.

Pyroelectric energy may also be harvested by using the pyroelectriceffect, which converts a temperature change into electrical current orvoltage. Similar to the piezoelectric effect, the pyroelectric effect isassociated with a type of ferroelectric behavior. Like piezoelectricity,pyroelectricity typically needs some form of time-varying inputs andprovides relatively small output energy levels, however in someimplementations energy may be harvested and collectively stored (in abattery) for use.

Energy such as an electrical voltage may be produced from the thermalgradient that is formed between two dissimilar conductors. Such aphenomena, referred to as thermoelectric effect, produces a heat flowfrom the thermal gradient and produces a diffusion of charge carriersthat causes a voltage difference. Devices that produce such electricalvoltages, referred to as thermocouples may also be used for batterycharging or directly providing power to emergency equipment andemergency equipment stations.

Other types of energy harvesting techniques may also be implemented. Forexample, devices may implement electrostatic (capacitive) energyharvesting that is based on the changing capacitance ofvibration-dependent varactors. Mechanical energy is converted intoelectrical energy by vibrating plates of a charged varactor (a variablecapacitor). Electroactive polymers (EAPs) may also be used forharvesting energy. Such polymers have a large strain, elastic energydensity, and high energy conversion efficiency that may be used inbattery charging and directly providing power with or with additionalcircuitry (e.g., a transformer, etc.).

It is useful to power various emergency equipment stations illustratedin FIG. 1 throughout the building 14 using the above-mentioned harvestedenergy techniques. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the fire extinguisherstation 18 in FIG. 1 can be mounted to a wall, post, or other supportsurface, W, or mounted within a wall box or cabinet, C, that is locatedin the building 14. The fire extinguisher station 18 typically includesa fire extinguisher tank 52 containing a fire extinguishing material,e.g., water, dry chemical or gas, and a fire extinguisher valveassembly, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,585,055, U.S. Pat. No.7,188,679, U.S. Pat. No. 7,450,020, U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,651, and U.S.Pat. No. 6,311,779, the complete disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety. The valve assembly may include,among other things, a gauge 53 to provide indication of the pressurestatus of fire extinguishing material within the fire extinguisher tank52. The fire extinguisher station 18 also includes a docking station 50fixedly mounted to the wall, W, at a predetermined position. In someimplementations, the docking station 50 includes a housing 58containing, a sonar module 61 and defining spaced apertures or windows62 through which the module 61 emits and receives ultrasonic signals.(In the embodiment of FIG. 4, where the docking station 30 is disposedwithin a wall cabinet, C, the sonar module 61 is connected, e.g., bycable 64, to apertures or windows 66 in the outer surface of the cabinetdoor 68.) Also, disposed within the docking station housing 58 is amicrocontroller 60, as described more fully below with reference to FIG.5. Extending generally from the base of the docketing station housing 50is the electronics and communications tether 54 terminating, forexample, in a male connector element sized and configured to be receivedwithin the female electronics and communications socket defined in therear surface of the valve gauge housing 53. The length of the tether 54and the tenacity of engagement of the male connector element within thefemale socket at the connection are preferably selected so that anysignificant movement of the fire extinguisher 52 relative to itsinstalled position will result in dislodgement of the connection andinitiating a signal to the remote central station 12. The dockingstation 30 may be powered by alternating current, e.g., by the powerdistribution system 27, or it may be powered by its energy harvestingmechanism afforded by the microcontroller 60. If powered by alternatingcurrent, an auxiliary power supply, e.g., in the form of battery, may beprovided in case of power outage.

Referring to FIG. 5, the microcontroller 60 of the docking station 50can be used in concert with circuitry and modules included in thehousing 58 to energize the fire extinguisher station 18 and itsassociated electronic circuitry, modules and devices. Such amicrocontroller can also be implemented in other emergency equipmentstations to provide desirable energy supply schemes. In one example, asmentioned above in FIG. 1, power supplied from the remote sources 25, islocally distributed by power distribution system 27 to various emergencyequipment stations throughout the building 14. As such, themicrocontroller 60 can use a data transceiver 72 to communicate with thepower distribution system 27 through wireless link (e.g., using astand-alone antenna or an on-chip antenna) or hardware wiring (e.g.,cable). The power transmission received in the power converter 80 may befurther converted to accommodate different power consumptionrequirements to serve different modules (e.g., the sonar module 61 andthe gauge 53) of the extinguisher station 18. In the meantime, themicrocontroller 60 also includes data transmission and control mechanismto interact with these different modules. For example, data inputs(analog or digital) may be fed to the microcontroller 60 by usingvarious sensors 78, analog to digital (A/D) converter 74 and memory 76.Subsequently, the microcontroller 60 may issue commands to control oroptimize calibration, power switching, energy management configurationin connection with the power consumption requirement of each individualmodule.

In another example, the microcontroller 60 may receive and process datareceived from one or more energy harvesting devices that arestrategically located inside or outside the building 14 to captureenergy in various forms (e.g., solar, room light, sound and kineticenergy). For instance, as mentioned above, piezoelectric elements may beembedded in hallways or walkways to convert the “people energy” offootsteps into a voltage that charges a capacitor on the microcontroller60, thereby providing a power source. The power converter 80 andcommunicator 82 may subsequently be used to covert such energy intoappropriate DC power required by other modules of the fire extinguisherstation 18. For example, the gauge 53, powered by the microcontroller60, may use a Hall Effect sensor (not shown) installed at the rearsurface of the gauge scale to monitor the volume of the fireextinguisher material inside the tank 52. Additionally, themicrocontroller 60 may also include electronics and communicationscircuitry, e.g., disposed primarily within the docking station 30, forinitiating signals to the remote central station 12 upon detection ofpredetermined internal and/or predetermined external conditions. Forexample, referring again to FIG. 1, the circuitry can issue a signalupon detection of a predetermined external condition, e.g., lack ofpresence of the fire extinguisher 52 at its installed position at thefire extinguisher station 18, when the fire extinguisher 52 is removed,or an obstruction to viewing of or access to a fire extinguisher station18. The circuitry also issues a signal upon detection of a predeterminedinternal condition, e.g., existence of an out-of-range, e.g., low orhigh pressure condition of the fire extinguishing material containedwithin the fire extinguisher tank 52.

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, wireless signaling technology may incorporate telecommunicationschemes (e.g., Bluetooth or similar) to provide point-to-point ormulti-point communication connections among, e.g., fire extinguisherstations and/or other emergency equipment stations (e.g., adefibrillator station) and/or the remote central station. Thesetelecommunication schemes may be achieved, for example, with localwireless technology, cellular technology, and/or satellite technology.The wireless signaling technology may further incorporate spreadspectrum techniques (e.g., frequency hopping) to allow the emergencyequipment stations to communicate in areas containing electromagneticinterference. The wireless signaling may also incorporate identificationencoding along with encryption/decryption techniques and verificationtechniques to provide secure data transfers among the devices.

In other embodiments, the emergency equipment stations (e.g., adefibrillator station) and/or remote central station may include orotherwise be associated with a Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS maybe used to determine, for example, the geographic location of eachemergency equipment station and provide location coordinates, via thewireless signaling technology, to the other emergency equipment stations(e.g., the defibrillator station) and/or the remote central station.Thus, the GPS system may provide the location of the fire alarm pullstations and allow, for example, tracking of the frequency that stationslocated in a particular region of a facility are obstructed.

Also, the signaling may use networking techniques to provideone-directional and/or multi-directional communications among thedevices. In one example, signals from emergency equipment stations maybe networked asynchronously, such as in an asynchronous transfer mode(ATM). The signals may also be networked synchronously, such as, forexample, in a synchronous optical network (SONET). In still anotherexample, the signals may be transmitted over a landline in an integratedservices digital network (ISDN), as well as over other similar media,for example, in a broadband ISDN (BISDN).

Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: at least one energyharvesting device for harvesting energy from inside a building; at leastone emergency equipment station that includes an emergency assistancedevice and a plurality of modules powered, at least in part, by the atleast one energy harvesting device, wherein the at least one energyharvesting device is a small autonomous device associated with the atleast one emergency equipment station; communications circuitry for theat least one emergency equipment station; a microcontroller in the atleast one emergency equipment station, wherein the microcontroller isconfigured to receive and process data from the at least one energyharvesting device and the plurality of modules, wherein themicrocontroller allocates power harvested by the energy harvestingdevice to the plurality of modules, and wherein the microcontrollertransmits power distribution data through the communications circuitry;and a central station located remotely from the emergency equipmentstation and in wireless communication with the emergency equipmentstation, the central station configured to receive power distributiondata from the communications circuitry of the emergency equipmentstation that is powered by the at least one energy harvesting device. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller is configured totransmit information representative of an operational state of theplurality of modules to the central station.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the emergency assistance device comprises at least one of a fireextinguisher, a fire pull alarm, an emergency lighting device and adefibrillator.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one energyharvesting device is configured to harvest energy from a manmade powersource.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller isconfigured to convert power.
 6. An apparatus comprising: a gaugepowered, at least in part, by an energy harvesting device and configuredto be in communication with a volume defined by a portable tank fordetection and display of pressure condition of the content containedwithin the volume, wherein the energy harvesting device is a smallautonomous device associated with the gauge and configured to harvestenergy from inside a building; a microprocessor configured to receiveand process data from the energy harvesting device and one or moremodules of the gauge, wherein the microprocessor allocates powerharvested by the energy harvesting device to the one or more modules ofthe gauge, and wherein the microprocessor transmits power distributiondata through communications circuitry; and an electronic circuitdisposed in communication with the gauge and adapted to signal to aremote central station upon detection of predetermined conditionscomprising at least one predetermined internal condition, the at leastone predetermined internal condition comprising an out-of-range pressurecondition of contents contained within the volume of the portable tank,and said apparatus comprising at least one detector for the at least onepredetermined internal condition comprising said gauge for detecting theout-of-range pressure condition of content contained within the volumeof the portable tank.
 7. The apparatus for remote inspection of claim 6,wherein the predetermined conditions further comprise at least onepredetermined external condition, the at least one predeterminedexternal condition comprising at least lack of presence of a portabletank in its installed position, and presence of an obstruction toviewing of or access to the portable tank.
 8. The apparatus for remoteinspection of claim 6, wherein the electronic circuit comprises at leastone detector for the at least one predetermined internal condition, saidat least one detector for the at least one predetermined internalcondition being adapted to initiate a signal to the remote centralstation upon detection of the at least one predetermined internalcondition.
 9. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one energyharvesting device includes a piezoelectric crystal for harvestingelectrical energy from mechanical strains.
 10. The system of claim 1wherein the at least one energy harvesting device includes one or moreantennas to collect energy from radio waves.
 11. The system of claim 1wherein the at least one energy harvesting device includes a solar panelfor harvesting electrical energy from ambient light energy.